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Effect of crime on housing tenure: Evidence from longitudinal data in Australia
No full textWe examine the relationship between crime at the postcode level and housing tenure in Australia. We merge data on local crime rates from official police statistics with 19 waves of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey covering the period from 2001 to 2019. Our results suggest that local crime reduces the probability of homeownership. We examine house prices, neighbourhood safety, neighbourhood satisfaction and trust in neighbours as potential channels and find that the mediating effects of neighbourhood safety, neighbourhood satisfaction and trust in neighbours are more pronounced. We make suggestions for policy improvements to enhance homeownership
Digitalization strategy adoption: The roles of key stakeholders, big data organizational culture, and leader commitment
No full textThis study investigates key stakeholder factors that contribute to big data organizational culture, leading to the adoption of digitalization strategy in the hospitality industry. It also determines the interaction between big data organizational culture and leader commitment in influencing digitalization strategy adoption. Following a pilot test to ensure the suitability of the measures, a three-wave survey was conducted to obtain data from 438 hotels in an emerging economy. Structural equation modeling results reveal that three stakeholder factors (i.e., customer orientation, supplier cooperation, and employee information technology skills) positively affect big data organizational culture, which in turn enhances the adoption of digitalization strategies. Moreover, leader commitment moderates the link between big data organizational culture and digitalization strategy adoption. These findings advance the extant literature on hospitality digital transformation and digitalization strategy. They also provide important implications for hospitality managers in understanding and promoting big data culture and digitalization strategy adoption
Feasibility of hydrogen hybrid energy systems for sustainable on- and off-grid integration: An Australian REZs case study
No full textThe escalating effects of climate change and the finite nature of fossil fuels underscore the imperative for transitioning to renewable energy. This study assesses the feasibility of hybrid energy systems that harness renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, alongside hydrogen technologies and solid-state lithium-ion batteries in diverse energy landscapes. Concentrating on five of Australia's renewable energy zones (REZs)—Broken Hill in New South Wales, Murray River in Victoria, Darling Downs in Queensland, Riverland in South Australia, and North East Tasmania—the research employs the Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER Pro) microgrid software. This software optimizes the sizing of system components to ascertain the most cost-effective configurations for each REZ, considering varied scenarios, including resource availability and demand patterns. The findings indicate that Broken Hill and Murray River exhibit the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for off-grid and on-grid configurations, respectively, at 0.030/kWh. Conversely, North East Tasmania has the highest LCOE for both configurations, at 0.034/kWh, respectively. Furthermore, the study suggests that beyond grid extension distances of 350–530 km, off-grid solutions may be more economically viable than grid extensions. Moreover, on-grid configurations demonstrate the lowest net present cost (NPC), benefiting from the option to sell surplus electricity back to the utility grid, thereby enhancing their economic advantage over off-grid options. The strategic implications of these results are significant for global energy planning, advocating for a portfolio approach that incorporates a mix of on-grid, off-grid, and extended-grid systems, crucial for sustainably meeting future energy demands. These insights have the potential to guide research, policy, and investment decisions, promoting the cost-efficient deployment of renewable hydrogen hybrid en
Translating the user-avatar bond into depression risk: A preliminary machine learning study
No full textResearch has shown a link between depression risk and how gamers form relationships with their in-game figure of representation, called avatar. This is reinforced by literature supporting that a gamer's connection to their avatar may provide broader insight into their mental health. Therefore, it has been argued that if properly examined, the bond between a person and their avatar may reveal information about their current or potential struggles with depression offline. To examine whether the connection with an individuals' avatars may reveal their risk for depression, longitudinal data from 565 adults/adolescents (Mage = 29.3 years, SD = 10.6) were evaluated twice (six months apart). Participants completed the User-Avatar-Bond [UAB] scale and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale to measure avatar bond and depression risk. A series of tuned and untuned artificial intelligence [AI] classifiers analyzed their responses concurrently and prospectively. This allowed the examination of whether user-avatar bond can provide cross-sectional and predictive information about depression risk. Findings revealed that AI models can learn to accurately and automatically identify depression risk cases, based on gamers' reported UAB, age, and length of gaming involvement, both at present and six months later. In particular, random forests outperformed all other AIs, while avatar immersion was shown to be the strongest training predictor. Study outcomes demonstrate that UAB can be translated into accurate, concurrent, and future, depression risk predictions via trained AI classifiers. Assessment, prevention, and practice implications are discussed in the light of these results
Performance comparison and enhancement of the thermal energy storage units under two expansion methods
No full textTo improve the performance of the basic thermal energy storage unit, two expansion methods, modular combination and linear structural expansion, are proposed and compared through numerical simulations. The impacts of the two expansion methods on the performance of the storage units are compared by investigating the thermal storage and release processes. Following the numerical study, both expansion methods can increase the heat storage capacity and airflow rates compared to a basic phase change material (PCM) storage unit linearly. However, the linear structural expansion method will increase the PCM melting time from 147 min to 367 min when the heat storage capacity of the basic unit is increased two times, which is about 2.5 times longer duration than using the modular expansion method. As for the heat release process, the results indicate that thermal release performance using linear structural expansion is lower than that of the modular combination along with a decrease in heat release efficiency of about 32.53 %. In conclusion the modular combination method is proved to be more efficient compared to the linear structural expansion method for improving the performance of the PCM storage units
Probing the Interaction between Individual Metal Nanocrystals and Two-Dimensional Metal Oxides via Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy
No full textMetal nanoparticles can photosensitize two-dimensional metal oxides, facilitating their electrical connection to devices and enhancing their abilities in catalysis and sensing. In this study, we investigated how individual silver nanoparticles interact with two-dimensional tin oxide and antimony-doped indium oxide using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The measurement of the spectral line width of the longitudinal plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles in absence and presence of 2D materials allowed us to quantify the contribution of chemical interface damping to the line width. Our analysis reveals that a stronger interaction (damping) occurs with 2D antimony-doped indium oxide due to its highly homogeneous surface. The results of this study offer new insight into the interaction between metal nanoparticles and 2D materials
Calcium ions have a detrimental impact on the boundary lubrication property of hyaluronic acid and lubricin (PRG-4) both alone and in combination
No full textCartilage demineralisation in Osteoarthritis (OA) patients can elevate calcium ion levels in synovial fluid, as evidenced by the prevalence of precipitated calcium phosphate crystals in OA synovial fluid. Although it has been reported that there is a potential connection between elevated concentrations of calcium ions and a deterioration in the lubrication and wear resistance of cartilage tissues, the mechanism behind the strong link between calcium ion concentration and decreased lubrication performance is unclear. In this work, the AFM friction, imaging, and normal force distance measurements were used to investigate the lubrication performances of hyaluronic acid (HA), Lubricin (LUB), and HA-LUB complex in the presence of calcium ions (5 mM, 15 mM, and 30 mM), to understand the possible mechanism behind the change of lubrication property. The results of AFM friction measurements suggest that introducing calcium ions to the environment effectively eliminated the lubrication ability of HA and HA-LUB, especially with relatively low loading applied. The AFM images indicate that it is unlikely that structural or morphological changes in the surface-bound layer upon calcium ions addition are primarily responsible for the friction results demonstrated. Further, the poor correlation between the effect of calcium ions on the adhesion forces and its impact on friction suggests that the decrease in the lubricating ability of both layers is likely a result of changes in the hydration of the HA-LUB surface bound layers than changes in intermolecular or intramolecular binding. This work provides the first experimental evidence lending towards the relationship between bone demineralisation and articular cartilage degradation at the onset of OA and the mechanism through which elevated calcium levels in the synovial fluid act on joint lubrication
Pomelo (Citrus grandis L.) peels as effective sorbents for diverse gel matrices: The influence of particle size and powder concentration
No full textThis study demonstrated a robust methodology to upcycle plant waste into diverse gels as promising fat replacers. Pomelo peel (Citrus grandis L.; PP) was valorised to create gel-like sorbents resembling hydrogels and oleogels. PP were dried and ground into 125, 250, and 500 μm particles. The PP powder (10–40% w/w) was mixed with oil or distilled water for 2 min without heating. Self-sustaining gels were formed from 125 to 250 μm particles. Analyses revealed that the driving forces behind the gelling rely on the substantial fibre component within PP powder and the interactions between powder particles and solvent droplets. Larger particles exhibited higher antioxidant properties and formed gels through particle interaction, resulting in hard yet brittle sorbents with minimal oil/water loss. In contrast, smaller particles formed uniform gels due to solvent interaction but with higher water/oil loss. Increasing the powder concentration led to stiffer gels due to the filling effect
Analyzing Risk Perception, Evacuation Decision and Delay Time: A Case Study of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado
No full textClimate change is increasing the threat of wildfires to populated areas, especially those within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The 2021 Marshall fire forced the evacuation of over 30,000 people in Boulder, Jefferson and Adams Counties in Colorado, US. To improve our understanding of wildfire evacuation response, we surveyed individuals affected by the Marshall fire to analyze their evacuation decisions and resulting behavior. We used linear and logistic regression models to determine the factors influencing individuals’ risk perceptions, their decisions to evacuate or stay, and the associated evacuation delay times. We found higher levels of risk perception at the time of the evacuation decision were associated with higher levels of pre-fire perceived risk, having mid-level household income, the receipt of fire cues and having a medical condition. Increased pre-event risk perception increased the likelihood of evacuating, along with gender (female-identified), being aged between 55 and 64 years, and having a higher household income. On the other hand, having a prior awareness of wildfires had a negative effect on evacuation likelihood. Additionally, having previous experience with fire damage, owning their home, having a larger household size and being alerted later in the fire event reduced the delay time; whereas engaging in preparation activities and having children in the home led to longer delay times. These research findings can be used by emergency managers to better prepare WUI communities for future wildfire events
Memristor-Inspired Digital Logic Circuits and Comparison With 90-/180-nm CMOS Technologies
No full textCompact low-power devices with ultrafast processing speed are the fundamental building blocks for the development of the state-of-the-art logic systems and memristor prominently fulfills these demands and plays a major role in digital circuit design. In this work, design, implementation, and performance evaluation of memristor-based logic gates, such as NOT, AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, and XNOR, and combinational logic circuits, such as adder, subtractor, and 2×1 mux, are presented via SPECTRE in Cadence Virtuoso. Herein, we propose an optimized design of memristor-based logic gates and combinational logic circuits and draw a comparative analysis with the conventional 180-nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The utilized memristor model is thoroughly validated with the experimental results of a high-density Y2O3-based memristive crossbar array (MCA), which shows a significantly low values of coefficient of variabilities in device-to-device (D2D) and cycle-to-cycle (C2C) operation. The area, power, and delay calculated from these combinational circuits are found to be reduced by more than 71.4%, 40%, and 54%, respectively, as compared to the conventional 180-nm CMOS technology. The impact of multiple CMOS technology nodes (90 and 180 nm) on the power consumption at the chip-level logic circuit implementation has also been investigated. The adopted memristor-based design significantly improves the performance of various logic designs, which makes it area and power efficient and enables a major breakthrough in designing various low-power, low-cost, ultrafast, and compact circuits